Sharabi did not know his wife, daughters were murdered on Oct. 7; Levy's wife was also murdered; Hostages forum: 'Horrifying images' of the 3 at Hamas handover show urgent need for all captives to com

The three hostages, all of whom are presumed to be alive, are Eli Sharabi, 51; Ohad Ben-Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34. Their release will be the fifth to take place since the initial phase of the current Israel-Hamas ceasefire began on Jan. 19. It is the second release in which all of the freed captives will be men.

Or Levy, 34, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, were handed over by the Red Cross officials to Israel Defense Forces troops at around 11:15 a.m. local time and driven back to Israeli territory some 30 minutes later.

The three male civilians were freed Saturday in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel as part of a ceasefire in Gaza that has paused the war in the Gaza Strip.